Wong Choong Hann

Wong Choong Hann Template:Post-nominals (Template:Zh; born 17 February 1977) is a Malaysian former badminton player.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was the first Malaysian to win a medal in the men's singles event at the BWF World Championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He resigned as the coaching director for the Malaysia national badminton team in June 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Wong Choong Hann's career began with the 1996 Malaysia Open. The first tournament he won was the 1997 Dutch Open. He represented Malaysia in 2002, where Malaysia emerged runners-up to Indonesia in the Thomas Cup championships.

In 2003, Wong reached the World Championships finals. In a thrilling three-set match between the veterans (both he and his opponent were above 24 years old then), he eventually lost out to the champion from China, Xia Xuanze.

Wong played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, defeating Przemysław Wacha of Poland in the first round. In the round of 16, he was defeated by Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia.

The low point of his career occurred during the 2006 Thomas Cup when he injured himself by snapping an achilles tendon while playing in a quarter final match against South Korea, and was required to rest for almost 6 months. He made a comeback to the sport in the Asian Games later in 2006 but was clearly off form.

In the 2008 Summer Olympics he defeated reigning Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat but once again failed to advance past the round of 16, losing to Hsieh Yu-hsing of Chinese Taipei.

He has set up a company "Pioneer Sdn Bhd" with former shuttlers Lee Wan Wah, Chan Chong Ming, and Chew Choon Eng to conduct badminton programmes and hopefully produce world-class shuttlers for Malaysia.

In May 2010, Wong was called back to play for the Malaysian Thomas Cup squad.

In 2011 he played his last world championship, where he lost to Boonsak Ponsana in the second round.

Personal life

Wong Choong Hann married Leaw Pik Sim on 11 June 2005. They have a daughter, named Kyra Wong Xinyue, and a son, named Kayden Wong Zixuan. He currently resides in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. In September 2012, he co-founded LavieFlo International—the first preserved flower retailer in Malaysia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Achievements

World Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2003	National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England	Template:Flagicon Xia Xuanze	6–15, 15–13, 6–15	Silver Silver

Commonwealth Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1998	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Template:Flagicon Yong Hock Kin	10–15, 15–12, 15–6	Gold Gold
2002	Bolton Arena, Manchester, England	Template:Flagicon Muhammad Hafiz Hashim	8–6, 6–8, 0–7, 8–7, 3–7	Bronze Bronze
2006	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia	Template:Flagicon Lee Chong Wei	13–21, 12–21	Silver Silver

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia	Template:Flagicon Choong Tan Fook	Template:Flagicon Chan Chong Ming Template:Flagicon Koo Kien Keat	13–21, 14–21	Silver Silver

SEA Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1999	Hassanal Bolkiah Sports Complex, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei	Template:Flagicon Taufik Hidayat	10–15, 15–11, 11–15	Silver Silver
2003	Tan Binh Sport Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Template:Flagicon Sony Dwi Kuncoro	8–15, 5–15	Silver Silver

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2001	Malawati Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia	Template:Flagicon Lee Wan Wah	Template:Flagicon Sigit Budiarto Template:Flagicon Candra Wijaya	4–15, 5–15	Bronze Bronze
2005	PhilSports Arena, Pasig, Philippines	Template:Flagicon Choong Tan Fook	Template:Flagicon Luluk Hadiyanto Template:Flagicon Alvent Yulianto	10–15, 2–15	Bronze Bronze

World Junior Championships

Boys' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1994	Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Template:Flagicon Loo Yiew Loong	Template:Flagicon Peter Gade Template:Flagicon Peder Nissen	14–17, 6–15	Bronze Bronze

BWF Superseries

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels are Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consists of twelve tournaments around the world that have been introduced since 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	China Masters	Template:Flagicon Lin Dan	19–21, 9–21	Template:Silver2 Runner-up

Template:Color box BWF Superseries Finals tournament

Template:Color box BWF Superseries Premier tournament

Template:Color box BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the BWF Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) which was held from 2007 to 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by International Badminton Federation (IBF) from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Dutch Open	Template:Flagicon Oliver Pongratz	15–10, 15–11	Template:Gold1 Winner
1999	Malaysia Open	Template:Flagicon Luo Yigang	16–17, 15–17	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
1999	Denmark Open	Template:Flagicon Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen	15–17, 4–15	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2000	Chinese Taipei Open	Template:Flagicon Peter Gade	9–15, 5–15	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2001	Singapore Open	Template:Flagicon Taufik Hidayat	5–7, 7–0, 1–7, 7–1, 4–7	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2001	China Open	Template:Flagicon Xia Xuanze	3–7, 7–3, 2–7, 7–5, 4–7	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2002	Dutch Open	Template:Flagicon Lee Tsuen Seng	15–6, 15–6	Template:Gold1 Winner
2002	China Open	Template:Flagicon Chen Hong	12–15, 15–5, 15–9	Template:Gold1 Winner
2003	Chinese Taipei Open	Template:Flagicon Sony Dwi Kuncoro	3–15, 15–7, 15–4	Template:Gold1 Winner
2003	China Open	Template:Flagicon Lin Dan	16–17, 12–15	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2007	New Zealand Open	Template:Flagicon Andre Kurniawan Tedjono	21–13, 18–21, 14–21	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2009	Macau Open	Template:Flagicon Lee Chong Wei	15–21, 19–21	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2009	Chinese Taipei Open	Template:Flagicon Nguyen Tien Minh	11–21, 14–21	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2010	Malaysia Grand Prix Gold	Template:Flagicon Lee Chong Wei	8–21, 21–14, 15–21	Template:Silver2 Runner-up
2011	Australia Open	Template:Flagicon Sho Sasaki	11–21, 21–12, 19–21	Template:Silver2 Runner-up

Template:Color box BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

Template:Color box BWF/IBF Grand Prix tournament

Honour

• Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (AMN) (2000).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>